Though some of the most damaging exposures of classified material have come from companies working for the federal government in recent years, the intelligence community’s 100,000 contractors overall “are kicking butt” in helping agencies head off insider threats, the nation’s top counterintelligence chief said on Monday.

Anticipating threats “is a team sport,” Bill Evanina, the government’s national counterintelligence executive, told a gathering of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a nonprofit group made up of contractors and former intelligence officials. “The only way to win is a partnership, a whole-of-government, whole-of-country approach” that includes contractors and the news media as well.

“We have to get back to patriotism,” he said.

Despite incidents involving National Security Agency contractors such as Edward Snowden and Howard Martin, “we need to eliminate with urgency the idea that most insider threats are contractors,” Evanina said. “There’s no evidence” either for that, he said, or for the common notion that “millennials want to be leakers.”

The National Security Agency (NSA) has begun recruiting spy-tech inventors on the Monster.com of Beltway contractor jobs.

The agency posted a special notice to FedBizOpps.gov, right before the holidays, advertising work for small companies that develop “innovative technologies.”

An NSA spokesman told Nextgov last week, “NSA’s posting on FedBizOpps is intended to reach out to vendors that may not know how to do business with the agency and to direct vendors to NSA’s website for more information.”

The Dec. 17 notice is short on specifics and long on administrative procedures. The one-paragraph post offers few details on the broad agency announcement for “innovative mission capabilities.” Would-be covert developers must apply for online access to at least two restricted websites for more information. But the listing does provide the name, phone number and email address of the contracting officer.

The FedBizOpps.gov publicity is a first for NSA. In fact, the agency’s website, as of Dec. 31, stated that “NSA does no ‘open’ procurements; therefore, you will never see an NSA requirement on FEDBIZOPS (sic).”

Jesse James Anderson, 34, of Augusta, Georgia pled guilty last week to a charge that he made false statements, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The false statements concerned the number of hours he worked for a National Security Agency (NSA) subcontractor.

According to evidence presented during the guilty plea hearing, Anderson worked as a linguist for an NSA subcontractor from February 1, 2012 to January 31, 2014. During this time, Anderson submitted numerous timesheets falsely stating the number of hours he had worked. In total, Anderson claimed he worked 736.25 more hours than he actually did, which caused the United States to pay out $69,276.55 more than was actually owed.

United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver said, “False claims submitted to the United States for payments not owed is theft and should be punished to the full extent of the law. Protecting taxpayer money is a top priority for this United States Attorney’s Office.”

Anderson faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine. In addition, the Court can order Anderson to pay restitution in the amount of $69,276.55.

NSA Office of Inspector General Investigator Kristen M. McGrath conducted the investigation which led to the information and plea. Assistant United States Attorney C. Troy Clark is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Among the uncleared population there sometimes is a misperception that anyone can get a clearance, based on the millions of clearance-holders out there. In 2013, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper criticized the size of the cleared workforce in a memo that called for reducing the number of individuals with access to intelligence. Recently released figures show a 12 percent decline in the size of the cleared workforce.

Those who have gone through the security clearance process understand the significant headaches involved in both the initial background investigation as well as periodic reinvestigations. Obtaining a security clearance is no easy task, and not everyone who applies will be granted access.

To see a full-size infographic on the value of a security clearance, visit: http://www.clearancejobs.com/files/infographic.html.

The Army is focusing investment at Fort Gordon to refine its cyber domain and maximize the potential for “emerging, game-changing land-power technology,” said Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, the commanding officer of the Army Cyber Command.

Cardon’s remarks come one week before his keynote address at the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s 106th annual meeting on the theme of “Community Strong.”

Expected to speak on how the diverse community organizations collaborate to achieve economic success regionwide, Cardon said last week that the Army selected Fort Gordon as the permanent home for its Cyber Command to better control “cyber mission forces.”

“These decisions to co-locate the Army’s operational and institutional cyber organizations with National Security Agency-Georgia will create tremendous synergy through closer collaboration and coordination,” he said.

Defense contractors with top-secret clearances are bracing for blowback from the explosive National Security Agency (NSA) leaks scandal.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations about two National Security Agency programs has shaken the military-industrial complex, raising questions about whether the government has lost control over who is cleared to see sensitive information.

Experts said the new leaks, which follow massive disclosures to WikiLeaks by Bradley Manning, a military intel analyst now on trial, could intensify pressure on Washington to restrict access more tightly, as well as tighten the vetting of those given clearances.

But it will be difficult — if not impossible — to impose control on a system in which 1.4 million people now have some kind of clearance to see classified information.